After the AU bus accident which resulted in the death of a 14-year-old girl, the driver of the vehicle was indicted for homicide and involuntary injury. The reasons for the tragedy still remain “undetermined”.
The driver of the coach involved in the fatal accident which occurred on the A6, in Côte-d’Or, during the night from Saturday to Sunday, was indicted for “involuntary manslaughter” and placed under judicial supervision on Monday March 4. The public prosecutor of Dijon, Olivier Caracotch, indicated in his press release that the driver, aged 63 and residing in Gap, is also being prosecuted for “unintentional injuries”. The man is now banned from driving a public transport vehicle and from having contact with the victims, at least for the duration of the investigation.
The accident in which a 14-year-old girl died and around ten people were injured, “including an adult seriously injured in an upper limb” according to the prosecution, occurred on the A6, near Chailly- sur-Armençon near Eguilly. The public transport vehicle had around fifty passengers on board, including 41 children aged 5 to 15 and around ten adults. The bus turned on its side in the middle of the highway. Leaving from Andelys, in Eure, the vehicle was to reach Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes in the Alps to take the children to summer camp.
The reasons for the accident “still undetermined”
The investigation opened into homicide and involuntary injuries must help to understand how the accident could have taken place. Among the avenues considered, that of the fatigue of the driver who “thinks he has dozed off” according to the prosecutor’s instructions. Which clarified on March 4 that the reasons for the tragedy still remain “undetermined”. The driver’s alcohol and drug tests came back negative. As for the research carried out by the company that owns the bus, located in Hautes-Alpes, they “do not allow at this stage to note any anomaly in the driving times or the condition of the vehicle” again according to the prosecution. “The first findings suggest that the vehicle, for a reason still undetermined, moved to the right of the road, biting the shoulder, before lying down,” he added.
Regarding the traffic and weather conditions at the time of the accident, the mayor of Eguilly explained in the media on Sunday March 3 that it was raining a lot, but without this reducing visibility. And in the middle of the night, road traffic was fluid according to the city councilor.